12 CANINE DISTEMPER 
frail as he was previously robust. Friedberger and 
Frohner throw further light on the question in the 
following passage: “ The supposition that certain breeds 
become more frequently affected with distemper than 
others is probably erroneous, the more likely cause of 
this apparent susceptibility being the fact that such 
breeds are more numerous than others. Thus we find in 
Berlin that more than one-third of all dogs suffering from 
distemper are pugs, apparently because this breed is at 
present fashionable, and not because it possesses any 
special predisposition to the disease.” There is yet 
another explanation, for Gray tells us that “dogs of 
exotic origin are more liable to become infected than the 
indigenous or hardy breeds.” Probably this is due to 
the fact that in the countries of their origin distemper is 
unknown or rarely occurs. The Terra del Fuegian dogs, 
in whose native country the malady is unknown, rarely 
survive an attack. The same may be said of the Arctic 
breeds, such as the Eskimo, Icelandic, and Greenlander. 
Even those exotic breeds, such as the Japanese spaniel, 
samoyede, the chow, and borzoi, bred and reared in 
our country for generations, succumb readily to its 
ravages—the Japanese more than any other. 
Nevertheless, many of our indigenous breeds that 
have been too much in-bred, and too carefully nurtured, 
readily contract the infection under adverse influences, 
and furnish a great deathroll. Suchare the bloodhound, 
greyhound, foxhound, and the sporting dogs, among 
others too numerous to mention. Notwithstanding 
this, there are several strains of these various breeds, 
more capable of resisting the inroads of the disease than 
others. 
Several years ago Sir Ernest Shackleton imported 
about 200 “Huskies” from Hudson Bay, prior to his 
embarking on one of his voyages of discovery in the 
